I'll Be There For You
by Chelsea Oz
Summary: Jack feels like a loser for not rescuing Janet on time from Peter Van Horn and Janet feels like a loser for believing Peter Van Horn could even want her. They end up comforting each other late at night after the traumatic event. One shot.


I could have punched Peter Van Horn in the face until he didn't have a face left. How did he know he could do such a thing to her? Why did he have to pick on her and force himself on her? Janet Wood is my friend and friends are supposed to be there for one another. Why did Chrissy Snow, the dingbat, have to be the one to notice what a scumbag he was? Why didn't I just believe her when she told me that something was not right with her? I could have been there earlier and Janet wouldn't have had to suffer all that time like she did.

The biggest and most painful question in my mind is about me, callous as that may seem: Have I ever treated her that way? Have I ever stooped so low as that? I can go overboard with my flirting and have been known to get myself into trouble but have I ever really been that bad? I like to think not but then again, I'm not sure.

There is no way I'm going to sleep anytime soon. I think I'll pull a Mr. Roper and make myself some cocoa. God, I've been hanging around them too long. Mrs. Roper is a sweetheart but Mr. Roper is just a cranky, old man. He's in my prayers every night though; I pray I never end up like him. I shouldn't be that way though because he did allow me to stay here when I really didn't have anywhere else to go. Well, Janet helped make up his mind big time...Oh, Janet. She floods back into my mind as I make my way to the kitchen.

"Get out!" I heard Janet scream as I was about to swing open the kitchen door.

"Janet," I say, fumbling to find a light switch which only leads me to banging my leg off the table. After I shook off my latest fumble, the light came on and I saw Janet inside the kitchen.

"Are you hurt?" She asked, rubbing my arm.

"No, I'm okay," I say, letting go of my probably bruised leg and wrapping my arm around her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, honey."

"I'm so embarrassed," she said, breaking away from me and taking a seat on the sofa. "I'm sorry I acted out like that. I just lost my head, I..."

It killed me to see her so frazzled. She began to wipe away tears from her eyes while I watched like an idiot. I finally walked over to her, took a seat beside her and wrapped my arms around her. She hugged me back tight and I gently started to rock her.

"You're okay, sweetheart," I finally say after a long silence.

"I try so hard to be okay. He really hurt me deeply, Jack. I should have known better."

"Better than what?" I ask as I finally break away to look at her.

"Nothing, it doesn't matter," she said, still looking down at the floor. I knew what she thinks she should have known better: she wasn't good enough to be treated nice by a guy like that.  
"Sweetheart..."

"My name's not Sweetheart; it's Janet."

"Okay, Janet, I have a confession to make and I want you to look me in the eye for this one."

"What?" She asks, doing what she's told.

"Everything I said you were before he showed up is true and it's still true after he left."

"That's the nicest thing any guy has said to me, ever," she said, wiping her eyes and patting my hand.

"Have I ever hurt you?"

"No, of course not!"

"You mean it?"

"Jack, I have a confession to make and I want you to look me in the eyes when I tell you this."

"Uh-uh."

"No man has ever made me feel so safe before. You make me brave."

"I love you," I say. I shocked myself when I said that because I definitely didn't intend to say it. I hope she isn't going to get uncomfortable now that I had just calmed her down.

"I love you, too," she told me as she gave my cheek a kiss. I kiss her cheek back as we end up in each other's arms again.

"Good thing Chrissy is a sound sleeper," Janet told me as she got up from my embrace. She went back to her bed as I shut the light off and headed back to my own bed. We will see each other again in the morning at breakfast like always.


End file.
